Tower and tank.



PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

R.- AB.A T UTS. TOWBR'AND TANK.

Arrmuumx :man 1220.11. laos.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TOWER A ND TANK.

Specification of Letters Patent..

Patented July 3o, 1907.

Application led December 1'7, 1906. Serial No. 348,311.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Renner B. TUFTs, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Atlanta, Fulton county, State of Georgia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Towers and Tanks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to concrete structures, and more particularly tothose intended for the support of water tanks in elevated positions, andmy invention consists of a structure having a hollow concrete shaft andarched partitions and reinforced so as to support the weight and thrustcoming upon such partitions as fully set forth hereinafter and asillustrated in the accompanying drawings in whichi Figure I is asectional elevation of a concrete structure embodying my improvements;Fig. 2 a similar section illustrating a modification Fig. 3 a section onthe lineB-S of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a sectional view showing a different formof partition.

For general purposes the structure rests upon a concrete footing I,which is preferably stepped as shown and is integral with the body Aofthe structure, also of concrete, and of a general cylindrical form,either uniform in diameter and thickness or gradually contracted both indiameter and thickness as shown, forming a hollow shaft of any desiredheight and which -may be of concrete alone or reinforced by any suitablemetallic rods, bars, netting etc. as may be found desirable. Whenrequired there may be windows or openings G at any suitable points, andin a structure such as illustrated of considerable height yoke-shapedstrips of metal have their ends inserted in the body of 'the structureduring process of construction to constitute hand and foot pieces a, bymeans of which to climb to the top of the structure at the inside.

The shaft is intended primarily for the support of a second elevatedstructure, which may be a tank, as a tank D of metal, Fig. l, or a tankE of concrete, Fig'. 2, but in either case in order to constitute orsupport the bottom of the tank, I form integral with the shaft A aconcrete partition B, either in the shape of an arch, an inverted hollowsection of a sphere, or of a cone as illustrated in Fig. 4, in eithercase the central portion of the partition B being above the edges sothat the pressure tends to flatten the same and force the edgeslaterally outward. In order to support this thrust I reinforce the shaftnear the top by inserting therein metallic rods C either in the form ofcontinuous rings, or a continuous bar or strip bent to form a number ofcoils, or there may be a number of bent rods with their ends linkedtogether'. In either case the rods G serve to strengthen the shaft nearthe top so as to resist the lateral thrust or pressure of the archedpartition or part B, and due to the pressure thereon of the upperstructure or its contents. In order to secure greater strength at thispoint, the shaft may have an enlargement or thickened portion b as shownin Fig. 2, thereby permitting the insertion of a greater number ofreinforcing rods C, and a greater body of concrete material about thesaid rods, and there is also an inward projection or enlargement c belowthe edge of the bottom or partition B, thereby securing a better supportfor the latter.

Preferably, the body of the shaft is continued above the bottom orpartition B, either to form a flange, which has reinforcing rods J, asshown in Fig` l, or a tank or receptacle E, as shown in Fig. 2, theflange or sides of the receptacle being integral with the shaft. lVherethe shaft is simply intended to/form a flange, the space between thelatter and the arched portion B may be filled with a filling O ofconcrete or other material to form a flat bed for the bottom of themetallic tank I), and if desired the partition or bottom B may bereinforced With strengthening rods L of any suitable character andarrangement. v

A structure of the above character as compared with the ordinarystructures of masonry or metal has the advantages of durability,cheapness of structure and maintenance, and over metallic structures ofbeams and posts etc. it has the advantage of constituting in the shaft Aa storage chamber of great utility in many instances, and one in whichthe water pipes leading from the tank are protected from frost anddanger of breakage from this source. I

Although I have shown the portion B of the structure adjacent to the topthereof, I have termed it a partition, inasmuch as although it is shownas a base or support for the tank, it may be arranged at any point inthe height of the structure, er a series of the same may be arranged tosupport or constitute floors at different heights, and under the generalterm arch as applied to the portion B I include partitions Which may beeither arches, sections of a hollow sphere as included in Figs. l and 2,or of a hollow cone as in Fig. 4.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement ofparts shown I claim as my invention- 1. A concrete structure consistingof a hollow shaft o1 concrete provided with a transversepartitionelevated at the center and with metallic reinforcing rodsembedded in the shaft opposite the edge of said partition, for thepurpose set forth.

2. The combination in a concrete structure ot' a hollow concrete shaft,having an enlargement near the upper end and extended above saidenlargement, with metallic reinforcing rods embedded in the enlarged andextended portion, and an arched partition bearing upon the shaftadjacent the enlargement. f

3. The combination in a concrete structure, of a hollow shaft ofconcrete, an arched partition having its bearing upon the shaft belowthe upper end of the latter, a filler O between the upper end of theshaft and the partition, and

reinforcing rods embedded in the shaft adjacent to the point Where thepartition unites with the latter', asl sot forth.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT B. TFTS.

Witnesses:

J. C. CLARK, EDWARD JOHNSON.

